ir^^>;i^ 



THE SPEAKERSHIP. 



SPEECHES 






OF 



HON. GEORGE W. SCRANTON 



AND 



HON. JAMES H. CAMPBELL, 

OF PENNSYLYANfl^ "'" *"--- 

ON THE POLITICAL QUESTIONS OF THE DAY. 

y i \ V 



Delivered in the House of Representatives, January 11, 1860. 



The Clerk stated, as the business first in 
order, tke question of the admissibility of the 
resolution proposed by Mr. Edwauds yesterday, 
upon which the gentleman from Pennsylvania 
[Mr. ScRANTOx] was entitled to the floor. 

Mr. SCRANTON. Mr. Clerk, indisposition 
Las prevented me from constant attendance in 
the House for the past few days, and I am still 
unable to give attention to the preparation of 
my remarks at this time. 

Mr. Clerk, frequent allusion having been 
made to the vote for Mr. Gilmer for Speaker, 
by certain members of the Opposition party, 
accompanied with charges of bad faith in the 
casting of that vote, I desire, as one of those 
who contributed thereto, to explain my con- 
nection with the movement, and state briefly 
the motives which prompted it. 

But, first, allow me to say that I am one of 
those Pi,epresentatives from Pennsylvania who 
were elected by the People^ s partij. I received 
the support of the Republican party entire, and, 
in addition thereto, the suffrages of a very large 
part of the Democratic party of my district. 

Individually, I have been a Whig — was born 
in the faith — gave my first vote, in 1832, for 
Mr. Clay — and adhered to the tenets of that 
party, through all its vicissitudes, till the or- 
ganization became practically defunct. I was 
proud of the party, both in respect of its advo- 
cates and its principles, and I cherish those 
still. For the great leader, I felt an attachment 
so intense, that I know of no other name that 
would so appropriately express the emotion as 
love. I entertain the deepest veneration for 
his memory. Although I have never been an 



active politician, never having been a candi- 
date for office until my acceptance of the nom- 
ination for the position I now have the honor 
to hold, I have not been indifferent to the great 
questions that have of late been submitted to 
the country. In 1856, my vote was given to 
Mr. Filhiiore, which was by many considered 
an indirect vote for Mr. Buchanan; and I 
frankly acknowledge that I then preferred 
Buchanan to Fremont. Besides, on several 
occasions, I have voted for Democrats in our 
State elections, when I considered the candi- 
dates of that party the better men. These facts 
I merely adduce to prove that I am conserva- 
tive, and not so wedded to party as to be de- 
terred from making concessions, wlien, in my 
judgment, the public good requires it. 

My position, therefore, in this body, is an in- 
dependent one. The one hundred' and fifty 
thousand people I have the honor to represent 
have demanded no pledges to particular meas- 
ures. They have confidence in my fidelity to 
their Interests, and I have confidence in their 
national and conservative sentiments; and no 
motive can Influence me but the desire and the 
determination to represent them faithfully, and 
to serve my State and my country. 

Now,_ from the first. It has been apparent to 
me, as it must have been to every gentleman 
here, that an election cannot be etfected with- 
out some concessions of party prcferenae;. 
hence, sensible that the position I occupied 
would warrant me in joining such a compro- 
mise, I accepted th^ first opportunity that pre- 
sented itself. 

On the day that the honorable gentbraan 






from Tennessee [Mr. Etittridge] announced 
to ibe other side ol the House that Mr. (.iiLMtii 
could command more than thirty votes from 
the Opposition, at any lime when the Demo- 
crats would come to his support, I proposed to 
several gentlemen of our Pennsylvania delega- 
tion to make his proposition good. This was 
promptly done, and Mr. Gilmku'.s vote was car- 
ried up to thirty-six. So far as my observation 
extended at the time, I was the lirst among the 
liepublicans to suggest this step ; and 1 had no 
consultation on the subject with any one of the 
South Americans previous to the vote. Sub- 
sequently, it was asserted that we were not sin- 
cere in giving that vote, and stood ready to 
change it, so far as we were concerned, the mo- 
ment it should appear that Mr. Gilmeu had re- 
ceived a majority. Several gentlemen repudi- 
ated that charge publicly, of which number I 
was one. Mr. Gilmer was again put in nomi- 
nation by the honorable gentleman from Mary- 
land, [Mr. ll.vuiu.«,j with the fair understand- 
ing that his former Opposition vote would be 
repeated ; and the Democratic party was in- 
vited to come to his aid, and secure his elec- 
tion; but this they refused to do, and Mr. Gil- 
mer failed of an election. I therefore feel that 
I have made as much concession, in the way ol 
party predilection, in order to etlect aw organi- 
zation, as any gentleman upon this lloor, and 
much more than the most of them, for no op- 
portunity has since presented itself in which my 
vote could have availed in the election of a na- 
tional compromise man. My only object in 
this movement was, to bring about an organi- 
zation on a fair compromise basis, by uniting 
oa a sound, national, Union-loving, Southern 
man, whose well known position on the tariti' 
question makes him doubly acceptable to the 
people I have the honor to represent ; and that 
gentleman being a large slaveholder, and, as 1 
understand, representing one of the largest 
slaveholdiiig constituencies in the South, I sup- 

{iosed, if the Democratic party iu this House 
lad Ijeen sincere in their professions respecting 
the election of a Speaker, he could not but be 
acceptable to them. 

It has been urged against Mr. Gilmer, as an 
excuse for opposing him, that he has received 
the support of Republicans. I am astonished 
at 80 humiliating an exhibition of factious par- 
tisan spirit. I did not vote for him because he 
is an American, for I never belonged to the 

iiarty ; but I voted for him solely for the reasons 
have stated. 

And here let mo remark, that I left Mr. Sher- 
man for two ballots, not that I loved him less, 
but because I loved good order more, and wish- 
ed to extricate this House and rescue the 
country from the ditliculties which surround us. 
1 came here a stranger to Mr. Sheum.\.v. I 
have listened attentively to the discussions on 
this lloor, in the course of which, it seems to 
me, all injustice and misrepresentation iiave 
been Leaped upon his dcvolcd head, while, so 



far as I can learn, previously to this contest, no 
man ever stood better or was considered more 
courteous and honorable than he in all his in- 
tercourse with his fellow-members. I under- 
stand this to be admitted by the Democrats who 
have been four years associated with him in 
Congress. He has probably had less to do with 
the slavery discussion than almost any man 
who has occupied a seat iu the National Legis- 
lature during that period. 

During all the excitement and agitation of 
the last two Congresses, of which he was a 
member, Mr. Sherman* made but a single 
speech on the subject of slavery, called out by 
a message of President Pierce, in 185G, an ex- 
tract from which has recently been read at the 
Clerk's desk ; and I undertake to say that the 
sentiments it expressed are as cousers'ative, 
temperate, and proper, as those of any North- 
ern man, of any party, in or out of Congress. 
The only accusation brought against him is an 
(tllijj'.''l endorsement of the Helper book. Like 
Mr. SiiERMAX, 1 have never seen or read that 
book ; but if the extracts which have been 
brought to the notice of the House were cor- 
rectly quoted, I have no hesitation in condemn- 
ing it, distinctly and unqualifiedly; and I have 
reason to know that this is the position of Mr. 
Sherman. The explanation which he volun- 
teered on this subject several weeks ago was 
satisfactory to my mind, and, as I am inform- 
ed, was intended to be a full and complete 
disavowal of all sympathy with the obnoxious 
sentiments which have formed the staple of ^ • 
much angry discussion hare. I have the high- 
est confidence in Mr. Sherman's integrity, 
capacity, and patriotism ; and no fear that a de- 
scendant of the great signer of the Declaration, 
placed in that chair, would countenance any 
tendency towards disunion, or encourage any 
attempt to weaken or render inoperative any 
of the laws of the land. Besides, sir, his views 
on the subject of Home Protection fully accord 
with m^' own. 

Mr. Clerk, I am in no way an organ or ex- 
ponent of the views of the Southern Opposition 
party. They need none outside their own 
ranks. They are abundantly able to take care 
of themselves ; but, as a Representative of a 
portion of the people of the great Ke)'stone 
State, I cannot forbear a word of approbation. 

It is charged that these South Americans 
have been affiliating with the Republican party, 
and that they have taken their seats with us 
on this side, as if that wei'e an offence render- 
ing them unworthy the respect of gentlemen on 
the other side. So far as I have noticed, no 
improper intimacy has existed between these 
gentlemen and our party, nor have I observed 
any particular anxiety on theii' part to atliliato 
further than to extend and exchange those 
friendly courtesies which .ire due between gen- 
tlemen, and should especially be maintained 
among the members of this IIouso. For one, 
Mr. Clerk, 1 am free to say that I have been 



/ 



happy to associate witli tliem, and to cultivate 
friendly relations ; and although we do not 
agree with them on the important subject of 
slavery extension, I have become strongly at- 
tached to them. I admire the men ; their high 
order of talent, and their sound, patriotic, 
Union-loving and Union-preserving sentiments, 
so eloquently and fearlesrly expressed, show 
them, in times like the present, to be eminently 
entitled to the respect and confidence of all 
American citizens. I rejoice that these gentle- 
men are here ; and I thank God that He has 
given me a heart large enough to embrace all 
men who love this glorious Union, and are re- 
solved to stand by it and ]jreserve it. come from 
where they may. If my voice could reach the 
ears of their constituencies, I would say to them : 
Gentlemen, your interests and the interests 
of your country are safe in the hands of the 
Representatives you have sent hei'e, and I en- 
treat you to re-elect every one of them by tre- 
mendously-increased majorities. All honor to 
the immortal twenty-three ! 

Now, Mr. Clerk, Union demonstrations at 
the North having been often referred to since 
the commencement of this session, in terms, 
too, of doubt and suspicion as to their ingenu- 
ousness, I desire, in concbasion, to call atten- 
tion to a similar meeting among the people I 
represent. It convened at Wilkesbarre, the 
county seat of Luzerne, a county embracing a 
population of one hundred thousand. There, 
on classic ground, "by Susquehanna's side, 
fair Wyoming," in a region whose surpassing 
natural beauty and magnificent rescources of 
wealth and prosperity are enhanced in interest 
by the renown of a revolutionary battle-field ; 
whose history records deeds of heroism as 
wortliy of immortality as the defence of the 
blooming valleys of Attica, and whose tales of 
blood and suffering mark the most melancholy 
page of American history; there, sir, in the 
centre of northeastern Pennsylvania, where no 
sordid motives of trade and commerce form the 
impulse and incentive, as gentlemen have al- 
leged, of the great Atlantic ports ; there, where 
a prosperous, an intelligent, an independent, 
and a virtuous people dwell in peaceful securi- 
ty, far removed from the fountains of factious 
excitement, my constituents, without respect to 
party, assembled m their might to proclaim 
their fraternal attachment to the people of the 
Southern States, and to register anew their pure 
devotion to the Constitution of the Union. Their 
presiding officer on that occasion was an aged 
patriot, known, honored, and revered by the 
whole community in which he resides, and 
whose sire participated with the gallant little 
band who, in the year 1778, stood forth against 
overwhelming numbers of the enemy in defence 
of the homes and firesides of Wyoming and 
Pennsylvania ; while the distinguished repre- 
sentatives of both the Republican and Demo- 
cratic parties, including among them gentle- 
men who have repeatedly occupied seats upon 



the floor of this House, together with jurists 
and lawyers, whose abilities, let me observe, in 
their high spheres of action, are without supe- 
riors anywhere in these States, and, in fact, men 
in all stations and ranks of life, the business 
man, the author, the farmer, the mechanic, and 
the miner, united in one mighty, spontaneous, 
and emphatic endorsement of the national com- 
pact, and uttered a withering malediction on 
those fanatics who seek to disturb its oljliga- 
tions. These resolutions (which I shall ask 
you to read, Mr. Clerk) do not simply express 
the feelings of the people of the twelfth district ; 
I know, sir, that they indicate the sentiment of 
my whole State : and after these resolutions 
have been listened to, I venture to say, the hon- 
orable gentleman from Alabama [Mr. Cobb] 
will be led to acknowledge that Barnstable is 
not the only bright spot in the Northern States. 

The resolutions were read, as follows : 

" The citizens of the county of Luzerne here 
' assembled to-night, irrespective of party, do 
' proclaim : 

" That they are the fast and abiding friends 
' of the Federal L^uion ; that they know no 
' North, no East, no South, no West, that is 
' entitled to any particular privilege under the 
' Constitution and laws of the land ; but as one 
' solid and compact whole, as it came from the 
' hands of our revolutionary fathers, it is our 
' wish and desire to preserve, and transmit it 
' to our children as a legacy of nameless price, 
' a theory and system of governmeut more per- 
' feet in itself than the world ever saw. 

" That the separate and independent sover- 
' eignties of the several States of this Union are 
' constitutional guaranties ; and that any at- 
' tempt upon the part of the citizens of one to 
' interfere with the social and domestic rela- 
' tions of another, by force or violence, is trea- 
' son, and deserves the penalties which the law 
' imposes on that high and revolting crime. 

" That the late attempt of a gang of lawless 
' and desperate men at Harper's Ferry to revo- 
' lutionize the Government, by creating a ser- 
' vile insurrection in the South, merits the re- 
' buke and censure of every patriot in the land ; 
' and the punishment they received is but the 
' penalty due to crime. Let the aiders, com- 
' forters, and abettors, of that treasonable scheme 
' solace themselves with the thought that their 
' safety lies in the concealment of their crime. 

" That the prayer meetings and the public 
' assemblies which have recently been held, 
' sympathizing with ih^ felons connected with 
' the outrage at Harper's Ferry, have a bold 
' and unerring tendency to destroy the public 
' morals, to weaken and impair the bonds of 
' the Federal Union, and to bring into reproach 
' and disgrace the Christian religion. 

" That secession or disunion is to be con- 
' demned, wherever it may be uttered. It is 
' not to be tolerated. And that, while the peo- 
* pie of the North proclaim this sentiment, let 
' them not be the cause, by their acts, of ag- 



■ crression upou the institutions of tho South. 

* And to be able to give moral power to these 

* ^'ivat truths, it can only be done by living up 

* to tho letter and spirit of the compact of the 
' States. While the seal of the covenant re- 
' mains unbroken, disunion can never rear its 
' deformed and hideous face. 

'• That we do umiualiliedly approve of the 

* conduct of the Executive and people of the 
' old Commonwealth of \'irginia in the prompt 
' and elfeclual punishment of the men who 
' dared to subvert her Government and raise in 
' servile rebellion a portion of her people ; 
' and that we do also approve of the decided 
' and firm stiind taken by the Executive of this 
' State, in surrendering up the criminals flee- 
' ing from that justice which their crimes hoii- 
' estly merited. May the same friendly spirit 

* between the great States of Virginia and 
' Pennsylvania, as existed in the days of the 
' Revolution, and now, continue forever. 

" That we are law-abiding men, and Union- 
' loving men ; that for the safe, harmonious, and 
' successful administratioij of the affairs of the 

* Federal Government, which involve the hap- 

* piuess and welfare of twenty-five million peo- 
' pie, there is no law of political action para- 
' mount to the Federal Constitution ; it is the 
' very highest law which can shield and protect 
' the whole people of the Union ; and in the 

* support and maintenance of the high and ex- 

* alted principles embraced in that Constitu- 

* tion, liberty, such as American citizens only 
' know how to appreciate and value, can alone 

* be preserved. 

'• licsolced, That the foregoing opinions ex- 

* press the views of this meeting on the several 
' measures there embraced. 

" Jitsolved, That these proceedings be pub- 

* llshed in all the papers of this county, and 

* such other papers throughout the Union as 

* may be inclined to do so." 

Mr. SCRANTON. Now, sir, I trust not only 
the gentleman from Alabama, but all gentle- 
men from the South, will be satisfied with the 
loyalty of my constituents. 

The charge has gone forth from this House, 
and been caught up by the partisan press, that 
the Republicans have boasted of the ability of 
the North, with its population of eighteen mil- 
lion, to coerce into submission the people of 
the South. The sentiment expressed by my 
colleague [Mr. Hickman] has, I think, been 
perverted from the meaning intended by him. 
Jiut, while I have the highest appreciation of 
his able and fearless course here, in vindica- 
tion of sound principles, even in its original 
shape it is, in my opinion, objectionable ; all 
Buch invidious comparisons of strength only 
tend to foment discord and alienation, and to 
widen the breach that seems to be opening be- 
tween the two great sections of our country. 
Mr. IIicKNAN is competent to defend his own 
opinions. I merely allude to this expression 
iu order to bhow that while such charges are 



hurled against Republicans, it should be re- 
mtiubered that he has taken pains, on more 
than one occasion, in this House, to adirm the 
orthodoxy of his Democracy, and to resent all 
attempts to impeach it. 

My fervent hope is, that our power as a peo- 
ple will be reserved for nobler objects than 
fratricidal strife, and be united without regard 
to section iu advancing those aims of civiliza- 
tion by which the Union will be made prosper- 
ous, happy, and great. I heartily agree with 
the honorable and eloquent gentleman from 
South Carolina, [Mr. Miles,] that no State or 
section of this Confederacy can be forced into 
subjection by the others without a virtual dis- 
solution of the Union. Such a supposition, as 
the gentleman aptly remarked, is totally at va- 
riance with the quality of our common Anglo- 
Saxon nature. 

Finally, Mr. Clerk, I am one of those who 
have faith in the perpetuity of the Union ; con- 
fidence in the wisdom and good sense of the 
people both at the North and at the South. Be- 
yond that, I believe that the benign Ruler of 
mankind, who watched over and led our fathers, 
when darkness and adversity surrounded them, 
by a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire 
night, to final triumph and victory, will not de- 
sert us now. But, sir, I deplore the bitter words, 
the caustic animadversions and severe crimina- 
tions uttered here from day to day ; here, sir, 
in the halls of the Capitol, is the place to begin 
the blessed work of reconciliation. Let us set 
a glorious fraternal example to the people of 
our country by abstaining, in our debates on 
this floor, from what serves to irritate without 
convincing. 

Mr. CAMPBELL. With the permission of 
my colleague from the Luzerne district, I rise 
for the purpose of giving a cordial endorsement 
to the just and patriotic sentiments coutaiued 
in the resolutions which have been read at the 
Clerk's desk. The time has arrived when it be- 
comes proper for those who, like my colleague 
and myself, represent portions of the State of 
Pennsylvania, to say upon this floor, for her 
and for her people, that Pennsylvania cannot 
be suspected of entertaining any hostile senti- 
ments, or of cherishing an aggressive policy, 
against her sister States. In the exciting, use- 
less, and inflammatory debate which has been 
progressing within this Hall for the last five 
weeks, her honor has not been called in ques- 
tion, her character as a law-and-order abiding 
Slate has not, and cannot be, successfully as- 
sailed. 

Sir, Pennsylvania always has been true, and 
always will be true, to the Constitution and the 
laws of the land. No man who will consult her 
history, or refer to the past and present char- 
acter of her people, will for a moment doubt 
the one or the other. I rejoice that my col- 
league has had the good sense, firmness, and 
patriotism, at a time like this, to rise in his 



place and manfully endorse the sentiments, just 
and national as they are, which have been read 
to the House. And let me say, for my own 
great State, that she is too great to be unjust to 
her sister States. Her position, I repeat it, has 
ever been, and ever will be, that of a Constitu- 
tion-loving and law-abiding State. She knows 
the value of this magnificent Union of ours too 
well to make assaults herself upon that Union, 
or to permit others to do so. She holds within 
her borders revolutionary battle-fields, upon 
which her sons shed their blood to secure and 
perpetuate the blessings of the Union. Can she 
forget this? Can she be false to past renown, 
and present peace, security, and prosperity ? 

Sir, with a population of three millions, an 
empire in herself, she sits there among her 
mountains with her iron crown upon her head, 
and, pointing to her proud revolutionary tro- 
phies, relies upon the justice, patriotism, and 
• courage, of her hardy sons. Pennsylvania is 
for the Union absolutely, without qualification, 
in all contingencies, through every danger, and 
against the world in arms. There is no such 
word as " disunion," or that other treasonable 
word " secession," in her vocabulary. No dis- 
unionist could breathe upon her glorious soil. 
Her people believe that the Union will look 
down upon the graves of traitors for a thousand 
years. She gave her blood and her treasure for 
the Union of these States, and under our wise 
system of government she has prospered, until 
she has grown to be a great and powerful Com- 
monweal'h. And under the same benign influ- 
ence her sister States have prospered, new 
States and new Territories have formed to the 
shores of the Pacific, and a thousand valleys 
have been filled with a free, happy, and pros- 
perous people. Under our free institutions, the 
commerce of the country has spread over the 
laud and over the sea, aud the evidences of civ- 
ilization have bespangled a mighty continent. 
These are some of the blessings which have 
followed in the wake of our free form of Gov- 
ernment. May it be perpetual ! 

Sir, let no man say that Pennsylvania will 
embark in any unlawful crusade against her 
neighbors. We believe in the equality of the 
States under the Constitution and laws ; but we 
never endorsed that abominable heresy, that this 
Government of ours is a mere confederation of 
States. That idea we abandoned with the old, 
cumbersome Confederation. It was Xk^o. iKoph 
■ of the country who formed the Government un- 
der which we live and prosper ; it was the work 
of their hands. The General Government holds 
the aggregate of power conferred by the people, 
not by States, as such. That fact they made 
patent upon the face of the Constitution itself, 
by declaring that " We, the people of the United 
States, in order to form a more perfect Union," 
&c., " establish this Constitution." The people 
made it, and the people will take care of it. I 
never doubted that for a moment. 

Sir, I am altogether opposed to the idea that 



gentlemen advance here, that any one portion 
of this Confederacy will at any period of time 
make war upon any other portion. I cannot 
entertain the thought for a moment. I have 
too much confidence in the intelligence and 
common sense and patriotism of ray country- 
men to suppose it a possible contingenc}^ And 
1 will not draw comparisons between ditl'erent 
sections of my country in relation to the bravery 
of our countrymen. It can do no good — it would 
be fruitful in excitement and acrimony. I be- 
lieve that all Americans are equally brave. I 
scorn the idea that there is any difi'erence in 
point of courage between the freemen of the 
United States residing in different portions of 
the country. All are of the Anglo-Saxon race. 
All are free and independent men, and equal in 
point of true manly courage. It will stultify- 
any Representative to attempt to show that any 
portion of his countrymen are not as brave as 
any other portion. Through the veins of over 
thirty million of freemen residing in this land, 
rolls the unconquerable blood of the Anglo- 
Saxon race. That is my answer to the enemies 
of my country who may attempt to draw in- 
vidious distinctions between the courage of the 
people of one part of the Confederacy and of 
another part. 

Now, Mr. Clerk, one word in regard to the 
vote which I gave, in connection with several 
of my colleagues and others, for the honorable 
gentleman from North Carolina [Mr. Gilmer] 
as Speaker of this House. With my colleague, 
I followed the tiag borne by the illustrious 
Henry Clay, of Kentucky, for over fourteen 
years of my life. I never hear that name men- 
tioned without feeling those emotions of patriot- 
ism and of admiration for the memory of the 
great dead, which can only spring into action 
at the mention of immortal names. I followed 
the banner of Henry Clay until that flag was 
folded upon his breast, and laid upon his grave. 
Then, sir, I united my political fortunes with 
those of the American Republican party. In 
Pennsylvania, we call it the People's party — 
you may call it the American Republican par- 
ty of the State of Pennsylvania, if you please; 
names signify but little —principles are every- 
thing. The doctrines of that party, as I under- 
stand them — I speak for myself alone — ai-e 
these : We are the friends of the Union and of 
the Constitution and of all its compromises. 
We were opposed to the repeal of th'? Missouri 
compromise line — a repeal which has opened 
the floodgate of slavery agitation and aggres: 
sion upon us. That repeal was the result oi 
Southern votes. Southern agitation, and South- 
ern counsels; it was a Democratic vote and 
Democratic counsels that destroyed the com 
promise of 1820. 

But, sir, we endorsed the compromise meas- 
ures of 1850, in the State of Pennsylvania, with 
out distinction of party. We did so for peace, 
and in the hope that no further compromise 
would be required at our hands. Have the 



G 



people of ray State violateJ those compromise 
measures ? Can you lay your hands upon the 
record, and show that Pennsylvania refuses to 
carry out in good faith the compromise meas- 
ures of ISjO? We at the North have kept 
faith upon all the compromises we have ever 
made with the people of the South. In my 
State we have executed all the laws, in the let- 
ter and in the spirit, in good faith to all parts 
of the country. We repudiate none of the com- 
promises of the Constitution, nor any law mado 
under it. We stand where we stuod in 1850. 
On the contrary, the South has advanced be- 
yond the letter and spirit of that and all other 
compromises made between the North and the 
South. The Administration of Mr. Buchanan 
is now demanding Congressional legislation to 
protect slave property in the Territories. Who 
supposed, in 1820, a demand of that kind could 
be seriously made upon the freemen of the 
North ? Who could have supposed so in 1850 ? 
Do you not remember the wrongs inflicted upon 
Kansas ? There was an effort made by an Ad- 
ministration calling itself Democratic, by every 
species of wrong, and force, and fraud, to com- 
pel an unwilling people to accept a Constitu- 
tion which they had not, and could not have, any 
voice or vote in forming. Have we forgotten, or 
can we forget, the iniquitous Lecomptoa poli- 
cy of this Administration ? Did you believe 
that the freemen of the country would tamely 
submit to so gross an outrage upon their rights, 
and upon the very principle upon which our 
Government is based ? 

We cannot see where all this will end, if it is 
not promptly checked by lawful and proper 
means. Unchecked, it would drive free labor 
into the frozen lakes of the North, and convert 
our great Territories into a slave mart. 

And further, sir, the People's party of Penn- 
sylvania are opposed to slavery expansion and 
slavery aggression. We will oppose both within 
the Union, and within the spirit of the Consti- 
tution and the laws, through the instrumental- 
ity of the ballot-box and all other lawful means. 
We believe that, if you elect a Southern man, 
or if we elect a Northern man ; if we elect a 
Piepublican or People's man, or you a strict 
follower of the aggressions as recommended by 
the President of the United States in his re- 
cent message, that man, whoever he may be — 
whatever his political opinions may be — will 
take his seat in the Executive chair, so cer- 
tainly as the sun shall dawn upon the day. He 
will do it peaceably ; and if necessary, Mr. 
Clerk, the power of this great empire, now 
slumbering in its strength between two oceans, 
the pood men of all parties, from all sections of 
the United States, would put forth an effort to 
enforce the laws. I repudiate the idea that any 
man, of any political faith, cannot be lawfull}^, 
peaceably, and q\uetly, carried into the Presi- 
dential chair. Who will opi)osc it? Where 
will treason show its front? Who will commit 
the overt act? I believe the people of this 



great laud, and of eveij sectio-n of it, would 
rise in their might, and support the laws of the 
country. Where is the statute, where the clause 
of the Constitution, which prescribes the test of 
political laith for the President of the United 
States or the Speaker of this House ? Gentle- 
men talk about the Helper book. 1 have 
neither read nor recommended it. If it con- 
tains the sentiments which it is said to contain, 
I care not to do either. But who gave gentle- 
men the right to make that or any other book 
the touchstone of political faith and political 
eligibility? 

But to pursue the subject, in regard to my 
vote for the honorable gentleman from North 
Carolina, [Mr. Gilmer.] That gentleman was 
the warm friend of Henry Clay, of Kentucky. 
He is in favor of administering this House 
upon its great American originals. He is the 
avowed advocate of that doctrine which we 
cherish, and which every State in this great 
Confederacy true to her interests will cherish — 
the doctrine of protection for American labor, 
American capital and enterprise, for our agri- 
cultural, mineral, and manutacturing resources, 
against foreign labor, ibreign capital, and for- 
eign workshops — a doctrine, sir, which, if car- 
ried out to the practical adoption of a wise, 
national, and sulticieut tariff law at this ses- 
sion, with specific duties, will bring back pros- 
perity and reward to all parts of our land ; will 
re-light the fires of our furnaces and forges, 
will reward the laborer, give employment to 
the miner, and establish a convenient and cer- 
tain market for the farmer. Sir, I have voted 
for that gentleman with the greatest pleasure ; 
I voted for him on two ballots, because he is a 
patriotic man, because he is in favor of the 
Union as it is, the Constitution and the laws, 
opposed to aggression, and because he is the 
unflinching friend, as remarked yesterday by 
the gentleman from Tennessee, [5lr. Stokes,] 
of adequate protection to American industry 
and capital. 

I have a word to say, before I take my seat, 
in regard to a certain remark made by the hon- 
orable gentleman from Georgia, [Mr. Gar- 
TRELL,] who addressed the llouse j-esterday. 
I am one of those men, sir, who take a pride 
in the resources of this country generally. I 
will not indulge in invidious comparisons be- 
tween the productions of the various States. 
Now and then, however, it is refreshing to refer 
to the statistical facts, when we desire informa- 
tion on any jjoint. The honorable gentleman 
stated yesterday that the cotton crop of Georgia 
would buy the State of Pennsylvania. I sup- 
pose the gentleman intended to indulge in a 
little pleasantry, and I propose to answer him 
in the same strain — with the understanding, 
however, that I shall refer to facts. 

Mr. GAUTRELL. Will the gentleman allow 
me 

Mr. CAMPBELL. In a moment. 

Mr. GAUTRELL. 1 was discussing with the 



gentleman's colleague, [Mr. Hickman.] That 
gentleman was insisting upon the number of 
arms that could be manufactured in the North 
i;i a few days. My remark was intended to 
apply to arms. I desired to state that one cot- 
ton crop of Georgia would more than buy all 
the arms yoa have in Pennsylvania. 

Mr. CAMPBELL. With that qualification, 
I can very readily understand the remark of 
the gentleman from Georgia. I am not pre- 
pared to state, for I have not the statistics be- 
fore me, as to the numl^er and the value of the 
arms in Pennsylvania. I do not know what 
amount of capital it would be necessary for the 
honorable gentleman from Georgia to invest in 
order to buy the arms of our volunteers and the 
State property within our arsenals. They might 
possibly be purchased ; they could not be taken. 
But having gone to some little trouble to pro- 
cure statistics, for the purpose of replying to the 
gentleman's remark, as I understood the hon- 
orable gentleman on yesterday, I will give my 
friend the figures showing the amount of capi- 
tal necessary to purchase one of the sixty-five 
counties of Pennsylvania. The cotton crop of 
Georgia, as appears from the last census, is es- 
timated in value at about fifteen million dollars. 
It will now reach probably, if not quite, twenty 
million dollars. I will give the gentleman the 
benefit of the outside figure. I waut to refer 
the gentleman to the fact that, in 1850, the 
crops of Pennsylvania, according to an imper- 
fect estimate, amounted to about the following: 
Hay $10,000,000 

- 15,000,000 
. 9,000,000 

- 2,500,000 
■ 5,000,000 

- 1,000,009 

- 1,000,000 
. 1,000,000 

- 5,200,000 



Wheat 
Corn - 
Rye - - 
Oats - 
Wool - 
Buckwheat - 
Clover seed - 
Butter - 



49,700,000 

For the accuracy of these figures, and I be- 
lieve they are much below the mark, I will re- 
fer gentlemen to the census compend of 1850, 
and to De Bow's Review. If gentlemen can 
give me any more accurate information, I would 
like to have it. 

I have not estimated the annual value of very 
many productions, nor is it necessary to do so 
at this time. That makes the aggregate of cer- 
tain leading agricultural products, !p49,700,000. 
And I wish to call the attention of the House 
to the fact that the value of the minerals of one 
of the two counties which I have the honor to 
represent, the county of Schuylkill alone, the 
leading anthracite county of the State of Penn- 
sylvania, in 1855, amounted in value to about 
twenty million dollars. That of the counties 
of Luzerne, Carbon, and Lehigh, would proba- 
bly be equal to the production of Schuylkill 
county. I will compare the agricultural and 



mineral productions of the county of Lancaster 
alone with the statistics of Georgia — of course 
in a good-natured way — whenever we have 
time and opportunity to discuss that question, 
after this House shall be organized. 

Mr. GARTRELL. I will state, that when 
that time does arrive, I will take very great 
pleasure to show him the productions of Geor- 
gia ; and I will take very great pleasure in 
demonstrating the fact to this House, that the 
Southern States, though they are in a minor- 
ity in this Government, export largely more 
than the entire Northern States of this Onion. 

Mr. CAMPBELL. Let that issue, then, be 
joined between us — the relative value of pro- 
duction and export — and I will take pleasure 
in enlightening the gentleman upon that sub- 
ject, at the proper time. I know the State nf 
Georgia has taken some steps towards increas- 
ing her manufixcturing interests, for I know 
that certain machinists and mechanics have 
gone to Georgia from my own county — very 
capable and good men — and are now working 
in the machine shops and founderies there. I 
rejoice in it — in the general prosperity of the 
country. Does the gentleman conceive that I 
allow my patriotism or pride of country to be 
limited by State lines ? I take this to be a 
Government of the people, and the gentleman 
from Georgia and his constituency form a part 
of it. When comparisons are introduced, the 
object should be to show the advance of trade 
and business generally. They are always wel- 
come when they demonstrate our progress as a 
people. 

In this connection, I might refer to the coun- 
ty of Lancaster, which, in 1850, produced crops 
which may be valued at about the following 
figures : 

Wheat $1,30.5,111 

Corn 1,200,000 

Rye and oats .... 1,300,000 

Hay 1,440,000 

Butter 200,000 

Total 5,505,111 

To this must be added the yearly average ad- 
vance in yield within the last ten years. And I 
make these remarks to show the progress we 
are making under a wise Government. 

In conclusion, permit me to call the atten- 
tion of gentlemen to the fiict that the aggregate 
of the agricultural, mineral, and manufacturing 
productions of Pennsylvania will equal, annu- 
ally, if they do not exceed, ^500,000,000 ; and 
I will undertake to show, at a proper time, from 
reliable statistics, that they will reach that 
figure annually. I think the cotton crop of 
ail the Southern States ranges annually from 
$165,000,000 to $185,000,000. 

To return, then, for one moment, to the sub- 
ject with which I commenced these i-emarks, I 
desire to say, that at all times, to " the last syl- 
lable of recorded time," I trust, Pennsylvania, 



8 



LIBRARY OF 



CONGRESS 



with all her resonrccs, with all her people, will 
be found upon the side of the Union, the Con- 
stitution, and the laws. I do not want ^rentle- 
men to suppose that I referred to the produc- 
tions of my State as an element of agjrressive 



to 

pro 

scoi 

feus 

not 




"" ^ _,...... 11. y : my 



pie are a 

?y would 

^ n the de- 

^ ^ , I would 

peoplf would 



power, or that our people will ever be compelled | justly nold mo responsible for doing so. When 



to force a certain part or any part ot our nation 
to remain in tho lluiou. We do not anticipate 
that necessity : it does not enter into our calcu- 
lations ; we hold that idea in perfect contempt. 
The necessity cannot arrive ; our peopla are 
too wise. 

One word more to our Southern friends. 
When ^entlt-men upon that side of the House, 
of the Democratic party, endeavor to connect 
the people of my State with insurrection, or 
complicity with insurrection ; when they en- 
deavor to connect them with the John Brown 
raid, directly or indirectl}', we have no answer 



gentlemen address me aa their peer upon this 
Uoor, by argument, in a fair, frank, and friendly 
way, I will listen to them with the greatest 
respect and pleasure ; but for menaces, for 
charges of complicity with treason and insur- 
rection, I have no reply. I point to my State, 
to her history, to her national spirit, to her 
whole free, just, and fearless people, and show 
that she has always been opposed to lawless 
aggressions, at all times and at all places. 
With all the spirit and all the power necessary 
to take care of herself, she is too just to en- 
croach upon the rights of others. 



B U E L L 



WASHINGTON, D. C. 
& BLANC HARD, PRINTERS, 



